Environmental Health and Safety

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Working non-standard hours -- often called "shift work" -- for many years is not only hard on the body, but may also dull the mind, new research suggests. According to the study, those who do shift work for more than 10 years seem to have the equivalent of an extra 6.5 years of age-related decline in memory and thinking skills.

On November 3, the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council of the National Academies convened a workshop of distinguished representatives from the public and private sectors.  The participants were asked to suggest priorities for research that will “provide public health officials, healthcare providers, and the general public with the most up-to-date information about transmission, health risks, and measures that should be taken to prevent spread of [Ebola virus disease] in the U.S."

A 55-year-old worker who was found unresponsive in a restroom at Bremer Manufacturing Co. Inc. on May 6, 2014 later died. The man, who had been employed at the Elkhart Lake foundry for the past 38 years, worked with resin-containing isocyanates on the sand molding line.

The National Safety Council has become the seventh organization to join the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Total Worker Health Affiliate Program. The program focuses on increasing the number of work environments that support the integration of occupational safety and health protection with health promotion.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ordered $2.7 million in personal protective equipment (PPE) to increase Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) supplies to assist U.S. hospitals caring for Ebola patients.

While most workers in the U.S. are unlikely to be exposed to the Ebola virus or come into contact with people who are ill with Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever (EHF), many employers across a variety of industries are concerned about protecting their personnel from the virus.

BNSF Railway Company violated the Federal Railroad Safety Act when it disciplined a sick worker whose doctor told him to take the rest of the day off, according to OSHA.

Stafford Transport Inc., a solid waste removal trucking company, has been cited by OSHA for five safety and health violations following an inspection at the company's Mableton facility. OSHA initiated the inspection in July 2014 as part of the agency's Site-Specific Targeting Program, which directs enforcement resources to workplaces with higher-than-average rates of injuries and illnesses.